Digital Technologies as a Factor in the Promotion of Smart City Leadership

Abstract

This work set out to investigate the effects of digital technologies on urban environment in the process of smart city formation. In particular, the study was focused on the promotion of smart city leadership, as well as economic relations that emerge in the process of smart city formation and produce socioeconomic effects. The research methodology involved a bibliographic study of available publications on smart cities, as well as a logical and systemic modelling of the revealed effects on the basis of the authors’ previous research into various aspects of smart city formation. The conducted analysis of recent publications revealed the main characteristics of the smart city formation process, which involve vast application of social and technological drivers of the digital society development. The social and economic effects of smart city formation were determined and generalized with respect to the volume of implemented digital technologies. The waves of technological innovations in the process of smart city formation were determined, including the formation of a basis for data exchange, the development of social networking services and the implementation of artificial intelligence devices. In addition, the chronological sequence of manifestation of social and economic effects of smart city formation was defined.